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Dell outs Ivy Bridge XPS 14 and XPS 15 ultrabooks

Priced to go nowhere

Dell's range of XPS laptops, which are now labeled as ultrabooks in order to keep in step with Intel's latest branding, has been headed by the well received XPS 13, however the company has significantly updated its XPS 14 and introduced the XPS 15. According to the firm the XPS 14 is all about battery life while the XPS 15 is pitched at those who want to do content creation and video playback.

Dell's XPS 14, as the model number suggests, has a 14in screen with 1600x900 resolution and sports an Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U or Core i7-2517U processor with 4GB of DDR3 1,333MHz RAM. The firm offers a 500GB hard drive for the basic model, but has a hybrid hard drive and SSD option and a 512GB SSD-only option for those feeling flush.

Dell has priced the XPS 14 from £950, however with a host of options, including a Nvidia Fermi-based Geforce GT 630M GPU available, that price tag can close to double.

The company also introduced its XPS 15, which is dominated by a 1920x1080 15.6in display. It gives customers the choice of an Intel Core i5-3210M or a Core i7-3612M chip but unlike the XPS 14, Nvidia's Geforce GT 630M is standard with the option of an Nvidia Geforce GT 640M with 2GB of GDDR5, based on the latest Kepler graphics chip.

As with the XPS 14, Dell has stuck with traditional spindle hard drives on base models of the XPS 15, offering 500GB or 1TB options. Once again the firm offers a hybrid hard drive and SSD option but we would suggest opting for the cheapest hard drive configuration, ripping it out and replacing it with an after-market SSD.

While Dell charges the best part of a grand for the XPS 14, its XPS 15 is priced from £529, though once again there is an impressive range of options.

While Intel's ultrabook specifications have been applied to thin and light laptops, Dell's XPS 14 and XPS 15 machines are anything but light. The firm's XPS 14 weighs 2.1kg, while the XPS 15 weighs 2.6kg.

Dell's XPS 13 ultrabook has been one of the most impressive non-Apple laptops in some time and the company said it has focused on the fit and finish of its XPS 14 and XPS 15 laptops. While the XPS 15 is keenly priced, no amount of aluminium and magnesium will make the XPS 14 an attractive buy at £950 when Apple's Macbook Air and Macbook Pro can be had for just £50 more. µ